If you were expecting some kind of sun sign nonsense, forget about it. This is real astrology for the real world. If it's real astrology for yourself that you want, you can get it by phone or in print. And if you need help deciphering the astrological glyphs in the graphics accompanying this article, see Astroglyphs: Astrological Symbols Guide. Please note: this forecast is expressed in terms of Universal Time (UT). Also please be aware that, while I never change a forecast once it's published, I do post errata to acknowledge typographical errors and the like.
The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.
-- Anais Nin
 

Major storm and seismic activity looks more than likely this month, what with the last and closest SuperMoon alignment of the year happening on the same day as the Moon’s north lunar declination peak. It all takes place on the 12th, but the geophysical stress window extends from the 9th through the 15th. Heavy weather with high winds and heavy precipitation, unusual tidal surges and a notable up-tick in moderate to severe earthquakes (magnitude 5+) and volcanic eruptions are bound to figure prominently in the news during this interval. While it’s apt to be a peak for the month, there are lesser geocosmic danger signals in effect from the 5th through the 7th (in connection with the northward lunar equatorial crossing), the 17th through the 19th (surrounding the southward lunar equatorial crossing), and from the 24th through the 29th (associated with the new moon on the 27th and other lunar factors).

Any SuperMoon signals a heightened potential for strong storm and seismic activity, but the full moon SuperMoon on the 12th is the Moon's closest perigee of the year, and occurs within just a couple hours of the month's peak lunar north declination. On top of that, Mars is within two degrees of exactly opposite this particular full moon, which happens to make a Grand Cross pattern when the Saturn-Uranus opposition is figured in. This looks like some pretty expensive storm, flood and/or seismic damage potential, to me – including costly disruptions and/or damages to transport and communication infrastructure.

As always, there's no place on Earth beyond the reach of one or more such natural upheavals during any SuperMoon: the alignment is planetary in scale and scope, after all. But astro-locality mapping does point out some zones that appear to be especially vulnerable, including a longitudinal risk sector from New York down through Hispaniola and on to Santiago in the New World, which emerges to cross from Siberia down through Mongolia and central China down through Indochina, Singapore and Indonesia. The especially ominous-looking horizon arc goes from Hawaii to British Columbia, across northern Canada and the southern tip of Greenland to cross the Atlantic and then swing through Iberia across the Mediterranean and diagonally from northwest to southeast Africa, and finally through New Zealand from one end to the other.

I don’t mean to be unduly alarming, but I do think this would be a good time to batten down the hatches if you’ll be in a seismically active area. Figuring in the storm factor makes it wise to stay out of harm’s way as best you can, and to have your emergency kit ready just in case. And if you must travel, at least be prepared for layovers, missed connections, weather delays and other such hazards and nuisances.

I mentioned another elevated risk for extreme storm and seismic activity later in the month, which happens to coincide with a simultaneous Mars-Pluto alignment on the 28th (in effect throughout the last week of the month, and into early January). What to watch for? A rash of fires, explosions and crashes, of criminal attacks, terrorist strikes, military clashes and the like. For any of a number of reasons, a good time to avoid mass transportation and its infrastructure as much as possible. Adrenaline and blood tend to flow freely at such times, so stay alert and safe. Infectious diseases and other biohazards may pose an especially high risk during this late December Mars phase.

Remember Mumbai: the terrorist attacks there were carried out under the aegis of a Mars alignment. Mercury, Sun and Mars were within a few degrees of each other from November 21, with the Moon joining in on the 27th – the day the shooting started. Mars and the Sun remain within a few degrees all the way through December 18, and the Mars-Pluto alignment slides to within a few degrees by the 21st. Plus, the SuperMoon full moon on the 12th, as noted earlier, is part of a Grand Cross configuration that includes, in addition to the Sun and Moon, also Mars, Saturn and Uranus. Consequently, not to be alarmist, it looks as though pretty much the entire month is dogged by the threat of violence and danger. Watch your step, think clearly, pay attention to your surroundings, and remember that the best conflict is won without a fight.

As catastrophic as the Mumbai massacre was, it pales in comparison to scenarios such as another war between India and Pakistan, another Middle East war (precipitated by a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities), etc. I’m not seeing any of these things this month, mind you. But late 2009 into early 2010 is another calculation entirely. For now, it’s smaller scale stuff – horribly tragic if you’re anywhere in the immediate vicinity, merely terrorizing if you’re out of range. Thank heaven for small favors?

In the nearer term, late December’s Mars-Pluto action could signal a threat to what is otherwise likely to be the best month for the world’s teetering financial system in quite some time. The Venus-Jupiter conjunction exact on the 1st has been an inescapable sight since it began drawing near in mid-November. When it’s finally exact on the 1st, the Moon is only a few degrees away – a triple alignment that won’t be seen again until November 18, 2052. Notice the market rallies in late November, as the alignment drew near? Figure them to continue into December under the aegis of the Venus-Jupiter conjunction, interrupted by the occasional profit-taking and probably something of a panic toward the end of the month, as Mars aligns with Pluto and Saturn turns retrograde. If the Santa rally hangs on into late December, take it as a gift-wrapped present: there’s a disturbance brewing as Venus aligns with Neptune, Mars with Pluto, and Saturn going stationary all in the last few days of the year. (Saturn’s station on the 31st starts the Ringed Planet’s retrograde approach to the next Saturn-Uranus opposition. It’ll be exact on February 5, but within just a few degrees throughout late December and into the first few months of 2009.)

Make hay while you can, because a rally does not a recovery make. Remember that believing in this market and the global financial system underlying it is living in a fool’s paradise. The first of the five 2008-2010 Saturn-Uranus oppositions moved within five degrees of exact at the end of September, and markets crashed as central banks cranked up the printing presses around the world. The crash and accompanying deflation allows "Helicopter Ben" (Bernanke, so named for his reference to a Milton Friedman line about using a "helicopter drop" of money into the economy as a way of fighting inflation) and his ilk license to print money like fiends only for a time, before the currency gets so debased that inflation starts its run. It’s not like they have a choice, since the alternative is literally blood in the streets. Unfortunately, the short-term fix is a long-term disaster. The central bankers know it, but hope for the best anyway – the best outcome being a survivable inflation that destroys savings but at least lets the governments of the world pay back their debt on the cheap. There will be mini-rallies in market psychology here and there over the next couple of years, but we’re not halfway to the bottom yet. You know what to do.

SPECIAL FEATURE: This month's birthdays of the famous and infamous (with astrological birth charts)